Odd Angles of Hope and Misery
by alosercanwin
Summary: A murderer is on the loose, killing pregnant purebloods. Draco, an auror, takes it upon himself to solve the case. But after months of no evidence, Draco receives some unexpected news. His wife is pregnant. Now with the threat of losing his job and most importantly, his beloved family, he must put his past behind him turn to the most unexpected person for help... Hermione Granger.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys!  
I know I have quite a few unfinished stories on here, but I've had this one typed up in my microsoft word for a few months now, just working on it whenever I can, so i decided id post it and just see the kind of responses I got for it. This is the first time in a longggg time I've posted/updated a story, so hopefully some of my faithful readers are still out there, and hopefully I get some new ones.

Also, I'm planning on making this into a full series of stories, this being the first one, if i get enough positive feedback.

Do enjoy :]

* * *

ONE

TUESDAY  
NOVEMBER 9TH  
10:37 PM

"John? Sweetheart? Would you mind going downstairs and getting me a glass of water?" Emily Gant asked quietly as she shook her husband awake. He sighed, rolling over and looking into his wife's pleading eyes, but smiling despite his annoyance. She was six month pregnant, and although she normally wasn't the needy type who would wake him up in the middle of the night, her pregnancy had changed that within the fourth month.

"Of course I can." He blinked to focus in on the dark and then threw his feet off the side of the bed and stood up, wearing nothing but his boxers.

"Oh, and with a lemon too, please." She smiled at him, giving him an apologetic look. She knew how much he hated doing these things for her, but he did them anyway, showing her how much he really, truly cared about her. He grunted to show her that he had heard her request, leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips before heading down the stairs and into the kitchen.

They had been married for about a year and a half now, buying the house they were currently residing in a year ago. It wasn't as big and fancy as all the other pureblood families had, but they weren't as wealthy or well known as all the others either. For if they had been, John Gant surely would have purchased a house elf by now to be retrieving his wife water with lemon rather than freezing his bare feet on the woodened floor in their kitchen. His rubbed his one eye with his free hand as he squeezed a lemon into the ice water, then placing the remainder of the lemon into the glass, letting it settle on top of the ice cubes.

He was just reaching the stairs when he heard it, a loud piercing scream coming from his and Emily's room. Horror struck him as she screamed again, this time, calling his name followed by a cry for help. He quickly sprinted up the stairs, ignoring the fact that he had just dropped the glass of water, shattering it all over the stairs. As his foot touched the last step, a horrifying flash of green came from under the doorway of their room. "Emily!" He yelled, his heart racing. He threw open the door so quickly and with such force that he punctured a hole in the wall, glancing around just as a loud POP echoed throughout the room. His eyes immediately traveled over to his bed. His wife lay there motionless, a look of pure horror on her face. "Emily?" He walked over to her quickly, grabbing her hand in his. It was ice cold. "EMILY!" He lost it then. Tears ran down the side of his face as he grabbed his wife's motionless body and pressed her up against his chest. He cried loudly, begging her to come back, telling her he loved her.

His heart raced against his chest as sadness, anger, and pain built up within him. He was shaking and his tears were now uncontrollable as he rocked his now dead wife back and forth. He would never get to see her smile again, hear her laughter, listen to her heart beat against the side of his face, or even hear her cry or yell at him for something stupid he had done. He immediately regretted sighing or showing any sign of annoyance when she asked for a glass of water. He would get her a glass of water every night for the rest of their lives as long as she was still there when he got back. He should have had his wand on him to curse the bastard who had just destroyed his family before he apparated away. And his poor unborn child. It would never get to grow up like it should have before it was robbed of any happy life.

Because his family, his unborn child and darling wife, had just been murdered. They were gone. Killed by a stranger he was never able to get a glance of.

WEDNESDAY  
NOVEMBER 10TH  
8:23 AM

"Malfoy, this is becoming ridiculous. You've been on this case for a month. There have been two murders since you took on this case, not counting the first one that occurred, the one that made you want to take on this case to begin with."

"Yes, sir, I'm aware that-."

"Would you mind telling me why you wanted this case to begin with?" Gawain Robards, head of the Auror Department, sat behind his desk as he glanced up at Draco Malfoy, eyebrows raised, waiting for a response. Draco, on the other hand, stood with his hands behind his back, mouth open slightly as he stared at his boss. His reasons for taking on this case were pretty obvious to him, and he figured they would be to everybody else, but he wasn't so sure if it would be safe to admit it.

"Sir, I-."

"You know Malfoy, I'm really starting to get sick of you." Robards sighed, sitting forward in his chair and crossing his arms over his desk. "You think that you can just come right off of Voldemorts side, jump into the Auror Department, and suddenly you're a good guy who wants to stop a murderer from killing some pregnant purebloods. But you're horrible at this job. I might as well take my ditsy secretary and give her your job and put you in her place, because even she could do a better job then you could." Draco's fist clenched behind his back as he tried to hide all his anger from his boss's insults. "I'm sending you to the offices from now on. You can help the _real_ Aurors sort all their paperwork. Maybe you can learn something from reading all their case work. You're off this one, Malfoy."

"Sir, that is a mistake!" Draco said with his teeth clenched, unfolding his hands and taking a couple steps closer to his boss's desk. "I can solve this one, I know I can!"

Robards chuckled. "Why so much confidence, Malfoy?"

"This man… woman, whoever it may be, is out there killing the wives, and in the long run, the children of my friends. Not to mention innocent people who are just trying to live their lives in peace now that the war is over. You sit there and tell me that I'm only in this department because I want to look like a good guy to the eyes of the public. I won't deny that that's true, but it's not like I go back home to my wife and we start mourning for the loss of Voldemort!"Draco paused, calming himself down as he realized how loud he had just become. "Whether you can see it or not, I'm not a bad person. And I want to see the murderer of pregnant purebloods… innocent people, locked behind the bars of Azkaban for the rest of their life as much as you do, Sir."

The both of them were silent for a few seconds as Robards studied Draco carefully. "The problem here, Malfoy, is that I've given you a _month_ to come up with some hard evidence against this killer, and you've only been able to tell me…-" He paused, waiting for Draco to answer.

Draco sighed. "That it's someone out to destroy any of the pureblood family names connected to Voldemort."

Robards nodded, a smug look on his face. "Exactly." He sighed. "Once again, my secretary could have told me that. You can't even tell me if it's a man or a woman, can you?"

"Sir, please. I want this case. I can solve it. I just need more time." Draco found himself starting to plead. He _needed_ this case. It wasn't only that it had become personal, because it had, but it was more along the lines that he felt like he had something to prove. And not only to his boss, but to everyone who couldn't see the good in him.

"There was another murder last night, Malfoy." Robards cleared his throat, looking away from Draco, who was staring at his boss in shock, for the first time and glancing down at a piece of paper sitting in the center of his desk. "John and Emily Gant. They were getting ready to go to sleep for the night when Mrs. Gant, who was six months pregnant, asked her husband to get her a glass of water. As he was heading back up the stairs to the bedroom him and his wife shared, he heard her scream for help. He rushed up the stairs, watching the outline of the bedroom door glow green just as he reached the top step. When he flung open the door, the murderer quickly apparated away before Mr. Gaant could get a good look at him. His wife was already lying dead on the bed." Draco licked his lips, Robards looking back up at him.

"Sir-."

"Do you still want this case, Malfoy?"

"Of course, Sir."

"Then here's the deal. You have one week to bring me some hard evidence that leads up to locating whoever is killing all these women, or else I'm firing you. If, within that week, this murderer strikes again, killing another pregnant pureblood, and you haven't yet to still give me evidence, I'll still fire you."Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Robards talked right over him. "And I don't care if it happens tomorrow. If there's a murder… you're gone. No excuses. Are we clear, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco nodded. "Good. Get the hell out of my office."

Draco turned his back on his boss, walking right out of the room and slamming the door behind him. He made his way towards his office, ignoring all the looks he was getting from people he passed. He could only imagine the look of sheer anger on his face. He swung his office door open when he reached it, slamming it shut even harder than he had closed Robards', and immediately taking his anger out on his desk. He flung books to the floor, grabbed his chair and flipping it into the air, watching as it landed on the floor sideways. And as he went to wipe the rest of the stuff from his desk, he accidently knocked over a bottle of ink, spilling it all over his desk and the bottom of his white, button down shirt.

"Shit!" He cursed aloud, quickly trying to wipe what he could off, but being unsuccessful. "You have _got_ to be kidding me." He sighed, looking up when he heard the door open. Sticking her head inside the door a quarter of the way was one of the new Auror interns. Draco didn't even know her name, but she looked concerned and confused at the whole situation she had seemed to get herself into.

"Umm… are you okay, Mr. Malfoy?" Her voice was quiet and her eyes were studying the mess on the ground.

"Yes, I'm fine." Draco said with a hint of annoyance. "Just please leave me alone." The girl nodded, closing the door behind her. Draco finally took a look at the mess he had just made, leaning down and picking up his desk chair and putting it back right side up on the floor. He plopped down into it, putting his head in his hands. "I'm screwed."

**.::.**

WEDNESDAY  
NOVEMBER 10TH  
8:52 AM

"Hermione! Are you ready? If we're late Robards is gonna have my ass."

Hermione Weasley came pacing around the corner from the hallway upstairs as her husband, Ron Weasley, yelled at her from the last step. She tucked her shirt into her skirt as she walked down the stairs towards Ron. "We're not gonna be late Ron." Hermione said when she reached her husband, giving him a kind smile. "And even if we were, I'll just take the blame."

Ron chuckled. "Yeah, because he favors you."

Hermione rolled her eyes, patting down the wrinkles left in her shirt. "He does not _favor_ me, Ronald." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver necklace Ron had given her on her last birthday. "Help me put this on?" She handed the necklace over to Ron, turning her back to him and lifting her hair away from the back of her neck as Ron wrapped it around her neck and clipped it in the back. "Robards just simply… understand the way I do things."

This made Ron chuckle even more. "I'll never understand why you think he's such a good person." He kissed her on the neck, right below her ear lobe as he dropped the chain around her neck. Hermione turned around to face Ron, dropping her hair so it fell down her back and on her shoulders.

"I guess I just see the good in people." She said with a smile, leaning in and giving Ron a chaste kiss on the lips.

Ron smiled at her, pushing a strand of her curly hair behind her ear. "We should do a romantic dinner at home this Friday."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Romantic dinner?"

"Yeah. I'll cook your favorite meal, get some wine, we'll dim the lights, light some candles, and have a nice romantic meal. When was the last time we did something like that?" Ron said as he still played with Hermione's hair. "I'll even buy you some flowers."

Hermione laughed again, straightening Ron's tie and giving him one more kiss. "How about we talk more about this tonight? We need to go before we're late." Hermione turned away from Ron, grabbing her purse off the stairs and throwing it over her shoulder before heading into the living room to take the Floo Network to The Ministry.

Ron followed right behind her. "I thought we didn't have to worry about being late?" Ron teased. "Since Robards _'understands the way you do things'_. I must have heard you wrong."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. "And I thought that when you were considering buying your wife flowers, you weren't supposed to tell her about it. I must have heard you wrong." She reached above the fireplace and grabbed the container full of Floo Powder, holding it out for Ron to take some, not able to hide her smile at the frustrated look on his face.

"Fine." Ron said, taking a handful of Floo Powder. "I won't get you flowers then. I'll just have to get you something _better_."

"Better?" Hermione questioned as Ron stepped into the fireplace. "Like what?"

He smirked at her. "I guess you'll just have to wait till Friday" He tossed the powder into the fireplace. "The Ministry of Magic!" He yelled, disappearing from the fireplace. Hermione smiled at the spot he had just stood in before stepping into it herself. She shook her head and chuckled before throwing the powder into the fireplace.

**.::.**

WEDNESDAY  
NOVEMBER 10TH  
6:15 PM

Draco apparated home, landing in his front yard, after another unsuccessful day of work. His earlier fight with his boss had caused him to become completely lost and unfocused in anything for the day, and if another pregnant pureblood were to be murdered that night, he would surely lose his job. There was no doubt in his mind. What he really needed was to go home, have the dinner his house elf cooked for him and Astoria every night, take a seat in his favorite chair, and get the bottle of fire whiskey from the liquor cabinet and drink until he was able to pass out in bed and forget that today even happened. He only wished it wasn't a Wednesday.

He pushed open his front door as a different, yet good smell hit his nostrils. Whatever the house elves were cooking, it wasn't something they normally cooked. And strangely enough, it didn't even smell like their cooking. Some of the house elves he had taken to his home had belonged to his family over at Malfoy Manor. They knew the way he liked his dinner made and had even taught the new house elves, some brought over from Astoria's old home, the ropes behind everything. And naturally, Astoria's elves had returned the favor themselves. But he had been married to Astoria for nearly 2 years now, and had grown accustomed to the way his food had changed. Hell, he even liked it. But this smell, it was somehow different.

Curiously, he placed his bag down on the floor by his office as he walked passed it, and made his way in towards the kitchen to find out what exactly was going on. He pushed open the swinging doors, and to his shock and admittedly so, his amusement, he found his wife taking over their kitchen and cooking. He smiled at her, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the one counter. She had her back turned to him and hadn't yet noticed he had entered the room. He studied her carefully. Her dark brown, almost black, hair ran down her back in waves, ending just below her shoulder blades. She was wearing a red dress Draco had bought her not to long ago as a surprise, which was covered by a white apron he had never seen before. This was something new to him and as he took it all in, he couldn't help but admire his wife even more. If she was really cooking dinner, it was something completely daring and unheard of in the pureblood community.

This was a house elves job.

"Darling?" He called out to her with a small chuckle. "Are you cooking?"

Astoria turned around at the sound of Draco's voice, a surprised look on her face, yet greeting her husband with a smile regardless. "Oh, Draco!" She cried, laughing despite herself. "You're home early."

"Actually I'm home late." He corrected, approaching her and giving her a kiss. "I guess you're just so busy cooking dinner you didn't realize the time."

Astoria laughed. "I guess it's something like that." She turned back to the stove, mixing what looked like spaghetti sauce before turning the dial down to its lowest setting and wiping her hands on her apron. "I gave the house elves the night off." She said, walking over towards the liquor cabinet and pulling out Draco's fire whiskey. She grabbed an empty cup that had been placed to the side and poured it halfway with the liquor, and then walked over to Draco, handing it to him. "You look like you could use this."

He chuckled, taking the glass from her. It was amazing really how well she had grown used to him and all his weird habits and moods. She could read him like a book, and had even written her own book on how to solve all of Draco's little problems. Figuratively speaking, of course. "So I come home to find my wife cooking dinner in the kitchen, followed by her pouring me a glass of my favorite drink."

"I just figured I'd try something new for once." She explained, now back at the stove, her back to Draco again. "And I wanted to cook my lovely husband a romantic dinner and show him how much I appreciate everything he does for me."

Draco chuckled again. "What's next?"

She turned to face him, giving him a mischievous look. "Why don't you take your drink and have a seat in the dining room and maybe you'll find out." Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but not before turning his back on Astoria and heading out of the kitchen and into the dining room. The lights had been dimmed down, tall candle sticks standing up on the table, lighting it perfectly. The table had been set for a queen, and Draco took his normal seat, still in shock as he looked around the room. Plates full of different breads and bowls filled to the top with a bunch of different cheeses lined the spaces in between where the couple would soon be sitting. And a giant plate with spaghetti noodles still steaming sat directly in the center.

Astoria entered through the same door Draco had just come through, the pot of spaghetti sauce in her hands, and Draco smiled at her in amazement. "You really did all this?" She smiled at him, nodding her head, her cheeks turning slightly red at the shocked look on Draco's face. "Sweetheart, this is amazing. You really didn't have to do all this."

"Well I wanted to." Astoria said, dumping the spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles before retreating back into the kitchen. She came back a couple seconds later, hands empty and an apron no longer around her waist. She took a seat across from Draco and urged him to take the first bit of spaghetti. "I know it's no extravagant feast or anything, but I figured I'd just start small and work my way up as I got better." She accepted the spoon after Draco had taken his serving and gave herself her own helping. Draco daringly brought the first bite to his mouth and was shockingly surprised. It wasn't like the house elves would have made it, but it was still pretty damn close. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing, Astoria. Honestly." She blushed this time, taking a bite herself. They talked and ate throughout the whole meal, and when they finished, Astoria jumped up, telling Draco she had cooked him desert as well. He stayed in his seat and watched as Astoria came back into the room with a fresh backed apple pie.

"It's my mother's recipe. I owled her this morning and asked her for it." She said, cutting Draco a piece and placing it on a plate for him. Draco took another daring bite of his wife's new found hobby, and was again happily surprised. Although she had never done it before, she truly was an amazing cook. They had both finished their pieces of pie within a few minutes, and Astoria was already up and had started to clean up their meal. Draco stood up and helped her, carrying in the plate of leftover spaghetti. When he reached the kitchen, he placed the plate on the counter and reached up into the cabinet, pulling out a glass for Astoria and filling it with fire whiskey, doing the same to his own. When she entered the room, he gently took what was in her hand and handed her the whiskey.

"What do you say we get a couple of the house elves to come finish up this clean up job, and me and you go sit by the fire and have a nice drink after that amazing meal."

Astoria suddenly looked taken back, lowering her head and biting her lower lip nervously. "Draco, that sounds amazing… but… I don't think fire whiskey would be a great thing for me at the current time." She looked up into her husband's gray, confused eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, this meal wasn't just my way of showing you how much I cared about you. That was part of it, of course, but… I have some other news too." A smile suddenly grew on her face. "Draco… I went to St. Mungos today after you left for work to see a Healer."

"Why? Are you okay?" Draco was becoming nervous. He wished she would just spit it out.

"Well…I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

WEDNESDAY  
NOVEMBER 10TH  
6:58 PM

"D-Draco? Are you okay?"Astoria pressed her hand against her heart in concern as she watched Draco turn even paler then he usually was, walking back until he was leaning against the kitchen counter. His eyes were wide, staring absent mindedly at the wall opposite him, his mouth open in what appeared to be shock or freight. Astoria approached him slowly, standing in front of him and placing her hand on his upper arm. "Draco, please say something. I've never seen you so pale."

His eyes met hers, and he licked his lips as he noticed the scared look in her face. He knew he was probably scaring her, but this was so unexpected and couldn't have come at any worse of a time. "I-I… didn't know we were trying to have a child." He said, trying to regain his composure.

"Well, we weren't really. I forgot to take my contraceptive potion one night, and well this is the result." She still looked at him nervously.

"You forgot?" He didn't mean to snap, but his freight and nerves had gotten the best of him, and Astoria had taken a step back from him when he had raised his voice. His biggest nightmare had come true. With a killer of pregnant purebloods on the loose, this was the last thing he wanted for his wife. Because he loved her, even if other people couldn't see it.

The two of them had been thrown together, like many traditional pureblood families still were these days, but despite everything, they had managed to fall in love. Astoria couldn't stand the look of him at first, only knowing him through the stories her older sister Daphne, a Slytherin in Draco's year, had told her. And while Draco found her attractive and knew of her family, he wasn't crazy about the idea of being thrown into a marriage after being told what to do his entire life and being forced into becoming a Death Eater. But the two of them had met anyway, and upon talking, they discovered that they actually enjoyed each other's company. So, the two of them went from being friends, to best friends, to lovers, all within a couple of months. It was as good as love at first sight. Draco and Astoria were meant to be together.

"Astoria, you have to tell me these things!" Draco continued to yell, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I could have gotten you something to prevent this from happening!"

"Well maybe I didn't want to prevent this from happening!" She was starting to yell back too.

"This is something you can't do without telling me!" Draco pushed himself off the counter and had started to approach her. "What if I wasn't ready to have a child yet! And now, it's too late!"

Astoria looked at him disgusted. "You are so _selfish_, Draco Malfoy! _'What if I wasn't ready to have a child yet?'_" She mimicked him. "We're married, Draco! We've been married for almost two years! This is what married people do! They have children together!" She held her index finger up to him. "And _you_ of all people have been telling me for years that you've wanted an heir. So for you to stand there and yell at _me_, blame _me_, for becoming pregnant, is beyond unfair and completely out of my control." She glared at him one more time before pushing past him and heading for the door.

"Astoria-" He called after her, turning around and following her out of the kitchen as she headed for the stairs. "Astoria, please…-"

She turned around halfway up the stairs and continued to glare at him. "I wanted this to be special. I cooked you a nice dinner, granted it wasn't anything fancy, but I sure as hell worked extra hard. I even made you an apple pie, _from scratch_! I wanted you to come home from work, eat, and us be able to sit down together where I would be able to give you the news about our pregnancy. I wanted you to smile, and be happy about the fact that we can finally start a family together, because it was something we both wanted." She scoffed at Draco, rolling her eyes. "But what did you do? You yelled at me."

"If you would just let me explain-."

"No, Draco. I'm not going to." She said sadly, shaking her head, and Draco could tell from the look in her eyes and the way she was now pressing her lips together that she was crying. "I cooked, so you can clean." She turned her back and disappeared up the stairs and around the corner, heading for their bedroom.

Draco sighed, throwing his head back before turning his back on the stairs his wife had just descended and heading in towards the kitchen. He would do what she said and clean up the meal she had just made. Sure it was house elf work, but he knew it would mean the world to Astoria that he had done it. And most importantly, it would show that he did appreciate the meal she had planned out for them before he ruined it horribly. And after he cleaned everything up by hand, without any magic, he would go up to their bedroom where he would apologize to his wife and hopefully explain his overreaction. And seeing as it took him only a few minutes to finish putting everything in the sink and placing the leftovers in the fridge, he was headed up there before he knew it.

He slowly pushed open the bedroom door and saw Astoria sitting on the opposite side of the bed, legs hanging over the side and her back to him. He closed the door and sighed quietly to himself before walking over to the bed. He stood on the opposite side of her, and she had yet to move to acknowledge him. "Astoria, sweetheart?" He called quietly, hoping for a reaction that would never come. He heard her sniffle and watched as she brought a hand up to wipe her cheek. Slowly, he climbed onto the bed and crawled over to her. When he reached her, he sat behind her, placing his legs on the sides of hers, pressing his chest to her back. "I hate it when I make you cry." He said softly, gently grabbing her hair and moving it all over to her right shoulder. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry, Astoria. I didn't mean to yell at you." She still said nothing, turning her head in the opposite direction of Draco's lips and looking down at the ground. "And I wouldn't want to stress you out, especially with a baby on the way now." He wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her abdomen, where their baby was growing.

"Don't act like you care now just because I got mad at you, Draco." She said softly, wiping more tears from her eyes. "I don't want you to pretend to be happy about something for my sake. It was obvious from the look on your face the second I told you that you were unhappy about the whole situation."

"Darling." He called her softly, kissing her shoulder. "Please look at me." He heard her sigh, but watched as she raised her head and turned it slowly to look at him. He gave her a half smile, bringing his hands to her face and wiping away her excess tears. "That look on my face and me yelling at you, it didn't have anything to do with us having a baby. You were right when I said I've always wanted an heir, and I know that you've always wanted a child. And now we're both finally going to have our wish. But my reasoning behind my reaction is… well, complicated."

"Complicated?"

Draco paused, biting his lips together as he just stared at his wife. He had no idea how he was going to tell her this news. "I asked my boss to give me this case at work. It's a huge case, but that also means it's extremely complicated." He brought his hand up to his wife's face and pushed a strand of hair out from her eye. "The case involves a serial killer, one who has particular interest in… killing pregnant purebloods."

Astoria's eyes opened wide with panic. "But Draco, that means me!" She had now turned and was almost completely facing her husband.

He placed his hands on top of hers, trying to calm her down. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He said seriously, looking her deep in the eyes. "Or our little one."

"Draco, this is a bit beyond anything either of us has ever faced." Astoria was in a slight panic. "And with us being Malfoy's, don't you think this killer is going to have a particular interest in us?"

"That's why you can't tell anyone, okay?" He placed his hand on the side of her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "And I mean nobody. Not your parents, or Daphne, or any of your friends that you always have over for tea. Right now we don't know who we can trust."

"And in a few months when I start to show?"

"I'll have the killer by then." Draco said with confidence.

"And if you don't?" Astoria still had panic in her eyes.

"Do you trust me, Astoria?" She nodded her head. "Then trust that I'll keep you safe. If within a few months, if I still don't have this person, we'll move you somewhere safe, somewhere far away where they can't hurt you." Astoria shook her head, another tear running down her cheek, this time from freight. Draco pulled her in towards him, allowing her to rest her head on his chest and he held her tightly. "I love you, and I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

THURSDAY  
NOVEMBER 11th  
8:07 AM

Draco stood in the back of the elevator as it made its tight turns around the corners of The Ministry of Magic. His black leather briefcase, a gift from his mother for his last birthday, hung around his shoulder, reaching down to just above his knees. He gripped a cup of tea in his left hand as his right held onto the handle bars hanging from the ceiling, the danger of him losing his tea or falling imminent, although the later being more likely. His tea was enclosed inside of what Astoria called a 'travel mug'. He knew it was a muggle invention, and because of that he wasn't too crazy about it, but he accepted it anyway. He had always been complaining about how he wasn't able to completely enjoy his morning tea before heading off to work, so one day he came home from work and Astoria proudly showed him what she had come across at a muggle shop she had passed in London. And he had to admit, on nights when little sleep came to him, this was quite a brilliant invention.

He really was excited, no ecstatic, to know that he would soon be a father. But the thought that it had come at a time when there was a mass murderer out to get revenge on all the purebloods, frightened him. And the knowledge that he might not be able to protect his family frightened him more than anything. Draco wasn't the best Auror, and he knew it. He wasn't afraid to admit it, to himself at least. He sometimes wondered if it had to do with him being in Slytherin. It was uncommon to find a Slytherin who wanted to become an Auror. It wasn't prejudice, not completely, just the truth. More likely than not, Slytherin's were the prey rather than the predator. And Draco had wanted to switch it up. With the Dark Mark on his left forearm, the past he didn't want, a family name to save, and a father who disagreed, it seemed like the right thing to do.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Draco took this opportunity to take a sip of his tea before he would be whipped around the Ministry again. When he heard the doors closed, he lowered his cup and prepared himself for the elevator to start. He gripped the handle again tightly just as the elevator started back up again, lowering his eyes to the ground and paying no attention to the two girls who now accompanied him in the small elevator.

"So you finished the case already?" One of the girls asked the other, both their backs turned to Draco.

"Yeah." Draco could tell by the sound of the second girls voice that she was smiling proudly. "We set up bait. One of the newer interns wanted some brownie points I guess." She laughed. Draco kept his head low, but couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation. "Turns out he was muggleborn. He volunteered his older sister, said she was more than happy to help. So all we had to do was take what we knew from the previous time's the kidnapper had struck, plant the bait, and wait for him to show up. It wasn't long before we caught him."

"Who was it, Hermione?" Draco looked up at the sound of a familiar name, and he couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her earlier by the sound of her voice and her curly brown hair. And of _course_ she had finished her case so fast. Draco rolled his eyes. What else did he expect from the brains of the golden trio? She was one of the best Aurors to ever work for The Ministry, besides Potter of course.

"You _know_ I can't tell you that, Hannah." Hermione said pointedly. It was then Draco recognized the girl Hermione was talking to. Hannah Abbott. She was in their grade at Hogwarts. He didn't know much about her, and he didn't really care. She had never interested him much, especially being a Hufflepuff. All he knew about her now was that she worked for The Daily Prophet, one of the editors assistants. "And besides," Hermione continued. "I'm sure you'll find all about it soon enough. There will be some story in The Prophet before we know it."

Hannah smiled back with a small chuckle. "So you're in early to report to Robards?" She asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah. I owled him last night telling him I finished the report early and he asked me to come in before everybody else and give it to him." Draco couldn't help himself, he chuckled. It had come naturally, and the knowledge that Hermione Granger was still the good ol' goody goody two shoes she was back in Hogwarts, still turning in her reports before they were due, was too much for his self consciousness to handle. His small smirk fell when Hermione and Hannah slowly turned around to face him. They both glared at him and Draco quietly apologized, taking a sip of his tea and looking away in hopes they would do the same.

The elevator came to a stop as they reached Hannah's stop, and she said goodbye to Hermione quickly before darting out the door. Thankfully, once the door had closed, Hermione kept her back turned to Draco and didn't say a word. And he kept his eyes pinned to the back of her curly hair, lost in thought. Hermione Granger, the best of the best. She was always finishing things on time, and kept the title of the brightest witch of their age easily. Hell, Draco knew for a fact that Hermione had taken on the case her and the Abbott girl were just talking about less than a week ago, and already, she had captured him. He would never admit it out loud, but Hermione would always be two times the Auror Draco could even hope to be. If he had her brains, he would have had his case solved _days_ ago. He froze, mouth opening slightly as a brilliant, suddenly very obvious idea struck him. He might not be able to physically take Hermione Granger's brain to help him catch the murderer, but why not have her brain side by side with his.

He had already come to the conclusion that without help he wouldn't be able to solve this case. Truthfully, Robards had never given him enough field experience for him to even know what he was doing. He just simply wanted to prove it to someone. And now because of his pride and stupidity, not only would he be losing his job if he failed at this, but his family as well. It would _kill_ him to ask Hermione Granger to be his partner in this case, but as he thought more and more about it, the pros started to outweigh the cons. Sure, they would more than likely argue every minute of the day and hardly ever get along, but with her brains and bravery, and Draco's need to not fail at this, they just might pull it off.

The elevator door opened and Hermione quickly exited. Draco still had one more stop before it was his turn to leave, and he knew he had to make his decision. It was now or never. Swallow his pride and ask Hermione Granger for help, or take his chances and suffer the horrific consequences when the time came.

He flung himself out the door just as the gate had started to shut on him. He would do this for Astoria, and nobody else. He was able to catch it with his arm just as it slammed. He cursed, louder than he had hoped for, but ignored the pain and started quickly heading in the direction Hermione was now walking. When he was a few feet behind her, he slowed down to her pace. "Granger?" He called after her. She hadn't heard him, or was choosing to ignore him, so Draco tried again. "Hermione Granger?" She stopped at the mention of her first name and turned to see who was calling her. When she noticed it was Draco, she looked puzzled, glancing at him up and down.

"Malfoy." She said, confusion evident in her voice.

"I know you're on your way to Robards office, but I was hoping I could talk to you in private about something first." Draco said hopeful, his free hand holding tightly onto the strap of his briefcase.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy, that's not possible. I'm already late." She made to turn away from him, but turned back to say something more. "And I don't approve of you eavesdropping on my conversation, either." She snapped before walking away from him.

Draco chased after her. He was determined to get her help with his case. "I can imagine that I'm probably one of the last people that you want to have a conversation with, but this is urgent, Granger. It'll only take a few minutes of your times."

"It's Weasley now, Malfoy. Hermione Weasley." Hermione continued to walk ahead of Draco, refusing to even spare him a glance.

"Sorry." Draco said with a small laugh. "Old habits die hard, I guess." Hermione glanced over at him when his chuckle left his mouth. She was almost certain that was the first time she had _ever_ heard laughter come from Draco Malfoy. "Please." Draco found himself begging her, and it instantly damaged his ego. He didn't beg anyone, not even Astoria. "Just five minutes, and I'll never bother you again."

Hermione sighed, and Draco hoped it meant she was giving in. "I have to stop by my office anyway to drop off some stuff and get organized real quick before my meeting with Robards anyway. You can talk to me about whatever you have up your sleeve while I'm doing that." She said nothing else, even after Draco thanked her, and led him straight to her office. She pushed opened the door a minute or two later once they had reached her fairly large office, and she directed Draco to shut the door behind him as she placed her briefcase on her desk and started pulling papers out from it. Draco stood patiently in front of her desk, waiting for her to get settled. As Hermione shuffled through her papers, she spared a second to glance up at Draco. "You might as well start talking, Malfoy. You're only wasting your own time."

"I could really use your full attention on this, Granger."

She stopped, looking up at Draco and pushing her hair behind her ears. "It's Weasley, for the last time, Malfoy." She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "This better be bloody important."

"You're a bit more feisty then I remember." Draco snapped out of habit. Old habits really did die hard. "I guess being married to Weasley will do that to you."

Hermione rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in defeat. "You know what Malfoy, forget it." She quickly gathered all her stuff together, throwing what she needed back in her briefcase. "You told me you needed to talk to me, but so far, you haven't said one important thing. Standing here listening to you isn't worth me being late for my meeting with the Head Auror." She closed her briefcase and held it tightly in her hand, walking back around her desk and starting to head for the door. "Obviously what you had to say wasn't that important."

Draco had one more chance to say something to convince her to stay before he would lose everything. "I'm sorry, Hermione." Hermione stopped, her hand on the door handle, and she slowly turned her head around to look at him. He had never spoken her first name before, and it was stranger then she could have ever imagined. "Really, truly, I am sorry." He sighed in defeat, lowering his head slightly. "I'm just desperate for some help." Hermione crossed her arms, waiting patiently for Draco to continue. "I overheard you on the elevator talking to Abbott about how quickly you caught the kidnapper, and honestly, it really impressed me. I've been on the case of the murderer killing the pregnant purebloods for a month now, and yesterday, Robards threatened to fire me if I couldn't provide him with some hard evidence by Wednesday. The fact is… I'm not cut out for this job. I love how much it pisses off my father and I want to continue with this for as long as possible, I'm just not the best I can be yet. I can't handle this case on my own."

"What are you asking, Malfoy?"

"You just finished your case. All you have to do it hand in your final report, and from overhearing your conversation on the elevator, I know you're about to do that as well. Robards will just give you another case. But if you, Hermione Weasley, smartest witch our age, asked to be partnered up with me, he would grant you that wish in a heartbeat." Draco hoped she could tell he was trying to be civil.

"And what makes you think I want to even work with you?" Hermione snapped. "What have you ever done for me to deserve my help?"

"I know I was an ass. Not only to you, but to _everybody_. But I have changed, and you can partially thank my wife for that. I've seen the error of my ways, and if me becoming an Auror doesn't help to prove that, then I don't really know what else will. And I probably don't deserve your help, but without it, I… I won't have my job anymore."

Hermione laughed despite herself, shaking her head as she continued to look at Malfoy. "You keep saying that like it's such a big deal. Who cares if you get fired? You're one of the richest wizarding families in the world. What does your job matter to you?

"It- It doesn't really."

"Then why are you _so_ set on finding the murderer?" Hermione said, pushing her bangs from her face.

"I… can't exactly tell you." Draco licked his lips nervously.

"Then I can't exactly help you. Excuse me, Malfoy. I'm late for a meeting." She turned and grabbed the handle of the door, turning it and about to pull the door open before something Draco said forced her to stop everything she was doing.

"My wife is pregnant." Draco said it softly, but loud enough to where Hermione could even hear the heartbreak in his voice. She turned around quickly to see him biting the side of his lip, staring off to the side of her office, not able to look her in the eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he started to talk again. "I found out yesterday after I got home from work. If I don't catch the murderer before they find out about Astoria, she's going to be the first person on their list. She's the only thing right in my life right now, and I promised her I would protect her. I don't have any choice anymore in this." Draco's eyes met Hermione's again. "I took this case because it was a personal thing. There was a person out there killing my friends and their families. I wanted to be the person to bring them to justice for everything they had done. I never knew that I would eventually have to protect my own family."

"Malfoy-."

"Please, don't tell anyone." He said softly, interrupting her. "If this gets out, it'll spread like rumors at Hogwarts, and my wife will be murdered tonight."

"I'm not going to tell anyone, Malfoy." Hermione reassured him. "And you're family is going to be safe." Draco's eyes filled with hope as she spoke. "I'm going to help you find the murderer."


End file.
